I wanted to give u here a special mix, with music, sounds, diferent mood, just to change, because we are LARGE, DOUX, and we love music in all the ways. I must say you that these days, I prefer to listen real instrumental music than electronic music, dunno why, maybe I get old !! eheheh

No tracklist, but expect a very melodic selection of music, mostly old instrumentals with a soundtrack atmosphere, lots of piano and synthesizers. Of the more recent tracks in this mix, I have recognized music from Dimlite.

Well, you should just download the mix and trust the selector’s taste. You certainly got my recommendation!

Following the massive Digidesign Remix, which is finally available on 12-inch, here is a brand new track from Om Unit. No release-date, but pounding beats you gotta fall in love with.

Apparently, the first revision of this post was about a track called “The Cold Blooms”. Shortly after posting the article, Jim decided to take down the track as it was a work in progress. As the 12-inch of his remix for Joker is still fresh, I’m going to post that track instead.

There were quitesome mixes to feature recently, including a special for Christmas, but there are already some more goodies for you. Maybe not that many as on a usual Mixtape Monday, but the selection is quite diverse.

I haven’t heard much new music from Âme lately, but as of yesterday, there’s a new mixtape from the German duo.

Alpha Pup sub-label Friends of Friends will put out the debut album from 19 year old Shlohmo, titled “Shlomoshun Deluxe” in early January. To get you in the mood for that, XLR8R’s latest podcast was put together by the man.

From Ben UFO comes this mixtape called Why Not?, which is also available for limited download. As I got the download link from Sonic Router, I should also mention they also feature a second mixtape from Untold.

There was a big hype around the mixtape from Holy Ghost!, which was available in limited quantities on a real cassette. For Christmas, the duo on New York’s DFA label gave it away for a limited, now expired, download. Luckily, you can still find it in other places.

And if you’re into DFA and the likes, you might also want to check out Mehdi Mixmas, a mix put together by Ed Banger’s DJ Mehdi.

As as fan of the YSL blog, I don’t want to miss the chance and mention they have just launched their podcast. The first episode was put together by Beatsize Beats, who already established a reputation for quality mixtapes.

Ignore the buzzword, just enjoy the good music: Here’s the Lovestep mixtape from one of the Percussion Lab founders. Contains music from Joy Orbison, Floating Points, Burial, FaltyDL and so forth.

Last but not least, I stumbled across this old Maida Vale Session from Kode9 & The Spaceape. It was aired on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide show from July 2008.

Jan 16, 2010 The Holy Ghost! mixtape is also available from the semi-secret DFA Radiomixes website

Another nice Christmas present comes from Brainfeeder, who celebrate Flying Lotus‘ first decade of making music. Put together by The Gaslamp Killer, the mix features both old and new music, but most importantly some rare and unreleased material.

In a side note it was also revealed, that the new album from Flying Lotus will be out in April 2010 and goes by the name of “Cosmogramma”. Like the previous, it will be released through Warp Records.

Until then, you should download A Decade of Flying Lotus (direct link). Needless to mention, that the cover art was made by Brainfeeder’s own Ques.

Once a photographer for Life in World War II Okinawa and Iwo Jima, W. Eugene Smith photographed and recorded jazz musicians at his Manhattan loft from 1957 to 1965. It was here that now legendary musicians like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Alice Coltrane or Steve Reich met for late-night jam sessions.

In that period, Smith made over 4000 hours of recordings and took nearly 40,000 photographs. The Jazz Loft Project is trying to uncover and document these moments, a book by Sam Stephesonwas recently published. Rare audio-footage of that loft’s era was aired by WNYC in a 10 episode radio-series, which is also available on-demand. Throughout this month, NPR will also report about The Jazz Loft Project.

Is there a nicer way to wish you a Merry Christmas than with some good music? I will borrow the music from Kid Vector, who is not only good at mixing records, but also a great designer. You might know the artwork for his own Infinity City mixtape or the sleeve-design for Comfort Fit’s Polyshufflez album.

Well, he just put together this Christmas mixtape for you. And as there is no tracklist available, I will just recommend the download and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Following the interview with Beats & Faces illustrator Alice Dufay, boyfriend and collaborator Fulgeance has put together this sweet mixtape. A soundtrack for the project if you like. I still hope to be able to present you a feature on Fulgeance real soon, in the meantime listen to this mix or discover his own music. Also watch out for his new project Souleance!

From the all new 2010 compilation on Warp, comes this track from Gonjasufi. It was produced by no other than Flying Lotus, who previously collaborated with Gonja on last year’s Los Angeles album. Other releases from Gonjasufi include a 7-inch on Warp and several compilation appearances.

This track is one of three downloadable tracks from the Warp site. If you’re looking for the full compilation, you will get a free copy from Bleep – given that you order for at least £30. A digital download will be available early next year.

It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, so a lot of you people will take a plane, a train or the car to be with your family or friends. While us people in the southern hemisphere are sweating in the departure lounge, low temperatures and snow-storms are making it uncertain if you will make it in time. In other words, travelling is usually not the nicest thing and music on the radio is usually crap (especially during Christmas).

To improve the comfort of your journeys, I have compiled a list of mixtapes you should copy on your iPod before you leave. After all, these should make you forget about time.

First, here’s a month old mixtape from Mono/poly, which just caught my attention (thanks ▲irhorn!). It was made for the Ficus podcast series and can be downloaded via their SoundCloud page.

London’s Warm crew once again have some great mixtapes for you, the latest coming from Mark E. Check their sites for more new mixtapes from Move D and Faze Action!

The 499th episode of Beats In Space feature two great producers in one show: Detroit legend Juan Atkins and the UK’s Ashley Beedle. You can download both mixes from the BIS Website.

Next up is a mix from Jneiro Jarel, that already got some attention on the net. On Can I Dub Your Tape? No! he surprises with a selection of dubstep and other bass-heavy music, a tracklist is available here.

Romania is known to have cold winters, hence TRG stayed in to put together a mixtape for all of us. His Arctic City Mix is available from his website.

I also want to mention that all mixes from LuckyMe are now available as proper podcast (iTunes link).

Enjoy the music and have a save trip. Merry Christmas!

Dec 24, 2009 I’m no different than the others, so here’s some shameless self-promotion: Check the new podcast from Fulgeance!

Here is a track you might remember from back in April, it’s a rework by Greymatter of some classic Azymuth material. I mention it again, as it’s part of his “Edits & Reworks” collection, which you can now download for free. Another favourite is the rework Easy Money, so make sure to grab the entire pack.

It was through Dorian Concept’s MySpace page, that I first stumbled, completely unaware, across Alice Dufay’s work. Much later, when I used her illustration for the Swede:art Podcast, I became familiar with her work . And her great series of beatmakers from around the world, Beats & Faces, hand-drawn by Alice. Soon after, we got together for this little interview.

Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Alice Dufay, I’m an illustrator. I studied at “Ecole de beaux arts”, Art school in Caen (France). When I finished my studies i taught fine art for 6 years.

At the same time, I worked at home, making drawings, collage, textile creations for different people and supports (flyers, vinyl, book cover). Last year, I wrote and draw my first comic book “Le temps s’écoule à la vitesse d’un escargot“. The second one is meant to be ready in 2010. Nowaday, I work in an art gallery called Oh! with 4 other illustrators and designer

Was there a moment that made you decide you’re gonna be an illustrator?
Well, I think I’m the kind of artist who is into everything. I really enjoy to work with different materials and media. When I finished Art school, I thought I wanted to be a cartoon movie maker. Actually, I didn’t really decide to be an illustrator. I think it went that way because of the proposition I had and people I met.

Who were your biggest influences and which contemporary designers do you admire?
Daily life, cinema and music. I enjoy the colours and freshness of Basquiat and Cody Hudson‘s work, I also like Martin Arnold‘s videos and his vision of the classic American cinema of the 50’s, Julien Pacaud‘s collage or Wolfgang Laib‘s minimalism.

Can you explain the concept of your Beats & Faces series and how it started?Beats & Faces is a common project with my boyfriend Pierre (aka Fulgeance). We both wanted to put forward the new hip hop scene, new producers, new art.
I draw portraits of the beatmakers, designers , DJs, VJs that we like. There will be an exhibition soon, the first one will take place in Nice (French Riviera) and the second one in Kanazawa (Japan).

What role does music have in your life?
Music is a part of my daily life. I never had opportunity to learn music when I was a little girl, but I’ve always been into it anyway. I love to draw for musicians and I try to transcribe their universe. I really need to listen to music while I work, it inspires me and it really helps me to be creative. And, when it’s possible, I even act as myself as a DJ … or more as a selector!

Are there any other projects to look out for?
Sometimes, I make funny dolls – for example I made a Peter Digital Orchestra doll with his MPC 2000. I made the covers for Souleance, a partnership between the talented producer Fulgeance and DJ Soulist of What The Funk. I made the artwork for Fulgeance’s Smartbanging EP and I also worked, this time with collage, on the 1000Name‘s EP on Eklektik Records.

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The pictures seen in this post only show a small fraction of the Beats & Faces series. Alice’s page on Flickr is probably the most convenient way to see them all, you can also visit the project’s own MySpace page. For everything else, you best stop by her blog or the previously mentioned Oh! website.

A second part to this post should follow soon, then focusing on the music behind the faces.

This one’s a blast from the past for me. I used to be a huge fan of Rjyan Kidwell early records on Tigerbeat6, before he suddenly attempted a career as a rapper. Earlier this year, he made a return to IDM and his former label with his album Bataille Royale. Here’s the remix from Cex, taken from the new Kid606 Dance with the Chorizo.

You can actually get the entire EP for free, all you need to do is sign up for the Tigerbeat6 mailing list. Otherwise you can stream it from SoundCloud or simply buy yourself a copy.

Holiday give-away from Public Transit Records, label-head Kevin Moon aka Moonstarr has put together this mixtape featuring “beats from the past, present and a sneak peak into the future”. Or in other words, it’s all music from Kevin and his label-mates, including lots of unreleased material.

The year is almost over, time to reminisce on all the good music released in 2009. Gilles Peterson presented the first part of his favourites on his latest radio-show, but the real fun will begin with his upcoming Worldwide Awards.

The whole show will take place at London’s Garage on February 6, 2010. You can already get your tickets here. To get you into the mood, you should also check out this special Worldwide Awards Mix from Lefto.